Rotary Peace Fellowship Offers Full Funding for Peace Study

The Rotary Peace Fellowship provides peace leaders with two options to pursue academic and practical training in peace and conflict resolution. Candidates can apply for either a master’s-level degree or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict studies at one of six Rotary Peace Centers.

Training in the root causes of conflict, theories of international relations, and effective models of cooperation, conflict resolution, and negotiation including course work and applied field experience

A growing network of committed alumni employed around the world in diplomacy, government, non-governmental organizations and private corporations.

Professional Certificate Option

“Strengthening the leaders of today”

Three month professional development certificate program fully funded at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand

Designed specifically for candidates already working in the field of peace and conflict studies to further their understanding of conflict resolution

Theoretical foundational knowledge during eight weeks in the classroom and practical experience during two through three week on site fieldwork

The master’s-level program requires, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree in a related field, three years of relevant work experience and proficiency in a 2nd language. The certificate program requires five years of experience and proficiency in English. Up to 100 fellows are selected every year in a globally competitive process based on personal, academic, and professional achievements.

The 2014-15 academic term deadline is 1 July 2013. More information about the fellowship is available at www.rotary.org/rotarycenters. Application information will be available in January 2013.

All Rotary Peace Fellowship applications need the endorsement of your local Rotary district. You can find your nearest local Rotary Club by using the Club Locator tool on the Rotary International web site at www.rotary.org/clublocator

Replies to This Discussion

Please note, the course of study Rotary Fellows will follow at the University of Queensland is not, as described here, Peace Study. The statement stored on the UQ website about its Master of International Studies program is conspicuous by (a) having no explicit commitment to values of peace and (b) boasting of its 'close ties' with Australian Government departments of Foreign Affairs, and Defence. Many of the policies pursued by those departments are anything but peaceful!

Our own coursework program at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies of the University of Sydney is, by contrast, built on a value-explicit commitment to peace with justice. As well as informing our strong and long-established record of teaching and research, this leads us to outreach and advocacy, in partnership with many groups in the community and - on occasion - into open criticism of some of Australia's policies. See pages stored here: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/peace_conflict/

However, I feel that those comments are not correct. Firstly, what values of peace are you talking about which the program at the University of Sydney addresses but which are not being addressed by the program at UQ?

Secondly, whether the policies pursued by some Australian government departments are peaceful or not depends on your own assessment and what you stand for. But I would disagree if you just generalize your opinion.

Thirdly, the program at UQ is unique in that it is not only focusing on the prowess and efficacy of the faculty, but is internationally flavored by not only its association with such reputable organizations like Rotary, but attracts a mixture of students every year, connoting a multicultural and diverse mix of candidates.

Fourthly, I am a beneficiary of the Rotary program at UQ (2006-2008) and I am talking from experience, being a Zimbabwean and not an Aussie.

Lastly, I am doing research on the Rotary program (including the one at UQ) in order to find out how the graduates of the program promote peace, goodwill and world understanding when they complete the program. I am sure some of my findings are appropriate answers to the issue you raised about 'commitment to values of peace' which may be reflected in the work of the graduates of the program. I am more than willing to have further discussions on the Rotary Peace program both at UQ and other centers throughout the world, with you or any other interested persons on this network or outside the network.

UQ and Rotary Peace Fellow Alumna Melanie Moore states: "The University of Queensland's School of Political Science and International Studies invites peace and conflict scholars to challenge the status quo in international conflict resolution. Issues are tackled with scrutiny and diverse views are welcomed, which encourages innovative approaches to peace that translate to the field. Furthermore, students not only theoretically analyze historical and current trends in conflict resolution, but also engage in practical exercises based on professionals' varied experiences.

Jake Lynch's surprising criticism of our peace studies programs at the University of Queensland is perplexing and unfounded. The creation of a more peaceful and just world is the key motivating factor in our provision of a suite of educational programs, programs which are recognized as being among the very best in the world. The opening paragraph of our web page states that ' Our postgraduate programs in Peace and Conflict Resolution are designed to provide students with the skills necessary to make a significant contribution to such attempts at reducing and preventing conflict. We offer a comprehensive education, providing students with the necessary background in such domains as conflict resolution, meditation, peacebuilding, peacekeeping and human rights work. In doing so we aim not only to provide students with exciting professional opportunities but also to make a contribution towards a more stable and peaceful future'. The above statement makes our commitment to peace and justice very clear. It is true, as Lynch notes, that our teachers in this program have extensive links with governments and agencies throughout the world. This is because we strongly believe that it is by engaging with the real world that we can hope to bring about change for the better. These links do not mean that we are uncritical of governments policies: we regularly advocate for change and critique government decision on a range of topics, be it the invasion of Iraq, overseas aid budgets, human rights policies or peacebuilding in war-torn states. Staff and students in our Rotary Peace Centre and in our Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect are actively engaged in practical and advocacy programs which have made an important contribution to peace in our region and globally.

We invite students to contact us for further details about our programs in peace and conflict resolution, by emailing us at pols@uq.edu.au.

As an alumna of the UQ International Studies Program and as a Rotary Peace Fellow, I was encouraged to explore a number of areas of study related to peace and conflict resolution. From learning about the basics of international relations theory, to delving into peacekeeping work, to considering the politics of development--I was encouraged to think critically about complex issues, and to formulate my own ideas and pathway for promoting peace in the world.

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